Frank Chopp to retire as Speaker of the Washington State House after 2019 session

State Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Frank Chopp (D‑43rd Dis­trict; Seat­tle) announced today that fol­low­ing the adjourn­ment of the 2019 leg­isla­tive ses­sion, he will be step­ping down from his posi­tion as Speak­er of the Wash­ing­ton State House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives while remain­ing a mem­ber of the chamber.

Chopp, six­ty-five, has served as co-Speak­er (and then just Speak­er) for near­ly twen­ty years. He was just reelect­ed to the posi­tion again. Here’s his statement:

It’s been an hon­or serv­ing the state as Speak­er since 1999, and to have helped hold the Demo­c­ra­t­ic major­i­ty for so many years.

With that major­i­ty, we’ve accom­plished a great deal for the peo­ple of Wash­ing­ton. I’m proud that the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives led the way on such issues as:

• Apple Health for All, which pro­vides health care to more than 1.5 mil­lion people;
• Fund­ing basic education;
• Paid Fam­i­ly Leave;
• Mar­riage Equal­i­ty Act;
• Vot­ing Rights Act;
• Dream Act and the Oppor­tu­ni­ty Schol­ar­ship program;
• His­toric invest­ments in the state’s infra­struc­ture and trans­porta­tion projects that have result­ed in tens of thou­sands of fam­i­ly-wage jobs;
• The Hous­ing Trust Fund, which has invest­ed more than $1 bil­lion in afford­able housing.

Now, I’ve decid­ed it’s time to step aside so that I can focus more ener­gy on the issues that mat­ter most and are pri­or­i­ties for the cau­cus. I plan to serve as Speak­er through the 2019 ses­sion to pro­vide an order­ly lead­er­ship tran­si­tion, but remain in the Leg­is­la­ture as a rep­re­sen­ta­tive of the 43^rd Leg­isla­tive District.

It’s been an hon­or to serve as the state’s Speak­er and to work with so many ded­i­cat­ed leg­is­la­tors on both sides of the aisle.

“There are few who work hard­er and with more heart than Frank Chopp,” said Gov­er­nor Jay Inslee in a state­ment. “He has ded­i­cat­ed his career to lift­ing peo­ple out of pover­ty and strength­en­ing eco­nom­ic secu­ri­ty and oppor­tu­ni­ty for all Wash­ing­to­ni­ans. Con­grat­u­la­tions to one of Washington’s best as he pre­pares to round out his long and notable career as Speak­er of the House.”

Chop­p’s state­ment does not say whether he plans to retire from leg­isla­tive ser­vice entire­ly after 2020, but he has plen­ty of time to make that decision.

Chop­p’s retire­ment as Speak­er sets up an extreme­ly impor­tant lead­er­ship con­test with­in the House Demo­c­ra­t­ic cau­cus for the top posi­tion in the chamber.

The cau­cus — and the state — deserve a bold pro­gres­sive leader who can build a strong work­ing rela­tion­ship with Sen­ate Major­i­ty Leader Andy Bil­lig, Gov­er­nor Jay Inslee, Attor­ney Gen­er­al Bob Fer­gu­son, and the rest of the state’s exec­u­tive depart­ment. Who will step for­ward to seek the job? We’ll keep you posted.